Amendments to AML legislation in Montenegro

The Montenegrin Parliament adopted amendments to the Act on Prevention of Money-Laundering and Financing of Terrorism("AML Act"), which entered into force on 12 May 2026.

The amendments aim to ensure full implementation of FATF recommendations, as requested by MONEYVAL, and an alignment with the EU Regulation 2024/1624 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. They mainly pertain to governance and oversight, customer due diligence, customer onboarding and customer monitoring and restrictions on cash transactions.

Internal functions related to AML

AML compliance officer

Before the amendments, all obliged entities with a management board had the obligation to appoint an AML compliance manager from among the members of the board. This obligation has now been narrowed down to financial entities only.

AML Officer

The threshold for exemption from the obligation to appoint AML officer and deputy AML officer has been raised so that the obligors with six or less employees are no longer required to appoint these persons. In such entities, duties of AML officer can be performed by the director, provided that the director is of good repute and has an AML license. Obligors operating in non-financial sector can be exempted from the obligation to have AML officer and deputy AML officer even if they employ more than 6 employees, subject to a written approval from FIU.

One person may be appointed as AML Officer in two obliged entities only if both entities operate in non-financial sectors.

Attorneys qualifying as obliged entities must appoint AML officer, but such AML officer is exempt from the requirement to complete training or obtain AML officer license.

Customer due diligence (CDD), onboarding, and monitoring obligations

CDD

When conducting customer due diligence, obligors are now required to obtain, inter alia, information on the source of funds and, where relevant, the destination of funds.

The threshold for customer due diligence obligation in case of occasional transactions is reduced from EUR 15,000 to EUR 10,000. In addition, customer due diligence is now mandatory in case of a single or a series of related occasional cash transactions in between EUR 3,000 and EUR 10,000. A report on the due diligence must be submitted to the Financial Intelligence Unit (''FIU'') no later than within three working days after the transaction is executed or identified.

The following types of entities must perform customer due diligence when a single or a series of related payments involved are in the amount of 10,000 EUR or more:

(i) motor vehicle dealers;

(ii) dealers in vessels and aircraft, and providers of related services;

(iii) participants in the market of cultural objects, precious metals and precious stones (and products made thereof), wristwatches and clocks;

(iv) entities engaged in storage, safekeeping, trade or mediation in trade of cultural objects carried out in ports, free trade zones, or customs warehouses.

Entities engaged in:

(i) lease of real estate, when monthly rent amounts to €10,000 or more (or equivalent);

(ii) granting of loans, including agents;

(iii) real estate investment and trade, including real estate agencies;

(iv) payment institutions and electronic money institutions;

(v) the Post of Montenegro;

(vi) notaries; and

(vii) legal services (attorneys) when acting on behalf of a client (i) in the transactions for the purchase or sale of real estate or a company, (ii) managing client’s money, bank account securities, or other assets, (iii) establishment, operation, or management of business entity, or raising funds for these purposes,

must perform due diligence of all parties to the transaction they are facilitating.

Enhanced due diligence

Enhanced due diligence obligation exists when a customer is a trust or an equivalent foreign entity, which include the following additional obligations for obligors. Furthermore, trustees are now required to maintain and preserve for at least five years after the termination of their engagement with the trust, accurate and up-to-date records on settlors, protectors of the trust, beneficiaries or groups of beneficiaries, including those whose names are known, those selected by the trustee (discretionary beneficiaries), future beneficiaries already determined or determinable (beneficiaries who are not yet active), and other natural persons who directly or indirectly exercise ultimate control over the trust, as well as information, if any, on representatives, authorized persons, investment advisors or managers, accountants, and tax advisors. Trustees must provide direct electronic access to the records to FIU and the administrative authority competent for tax collection when entering into business relationships or acquiring real estate in Montenegro.

The amendments also stipulate that the Tax Administration of Montenegro is supposed to establish a Trust Register until 12 February 2027.

Client identification and verification

Obliged entities which have obtained an approval for implementation of electronic identification and video-electronic identification must have a separate risk assessment of the systems and solutions used for such identification, within eight days of obtaining the approval but in any case before electronic identification and video-electronic identification systems are out to use.

Where simplified customer due diligence is permitted, customer identity and beneficial owner must be determined no later within eight days after the business relationship is established. Obliged entities must adopt internal policies specifying the criteria warranting simplified due diligence, including types, amounts, and frequency of transactions eligible for simplified CDD.

Compulsory monitoring

Obliged entity ordered by FIU to perform continuous monitoring of a customer must notify FIU on all transactions of that customer exceeding EUR 1,000 if the customer is natural person and EUR 3,000 if the customer is legal entity.

Outsourcing

The range of entities to which performance of certain customer due diligence and monitoring measures may be outsourced is expanded to include the Post of Montenegro, notaries, crypto‑asset service providers, and accountants. Furthermore, obliged entities are permitted to outsource video-electronic identification of customers to third parties who use trusted algorithms for identification, if such third parties are registered in the EU or in another country that applies Montenegrin or EU standards for video-electronic identification.

UBOs

If ultimate beneficial owner cannot be identified, all individuals in managerial positions within the legal entity will now be treated as UBOs.

Legal entities must appoint a person authorized to enter registration data in the UBO Register and communicate with FIU and other authorities on UBO matter. Such appointee may either be an employee of the obliged entity with residence in Montenegro or an attorney at law or an accountant engaged by the obliged entity.

List of high-risk third countries aligned with FATF lists

The national list of high‑risk third countries must include all countries from the FATF's list of high risk third countries. Additional countries may be included on the list if FIU considers that such third country has deficiencies in its system for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing that pose a threat to Montenegro.

Restrictions on cash transactions

Payments involving transfer of EUR 10,000 or more, whether by virtue of one or a series of related transactions, must be made by wire transfer to a transaction account held with a credit institution in Montenegro.

Real estate transactions involving payment of EUR 10,000 or more may be executed in Montenegro only if at least one of the parties to the transaction has a transaction account with a Montenegrin bank.

Notaries are not permitted to notarize transaction documents designed to bypass the national payment system. Moreover, in cases one party paid the purchase price prior to the notarisation of the transaction document, the notary must obtain documentary proof of payment, whereas parties' own statement that the payment had been made is not an acceptable proof of payment.